The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-10-27
VENGEANCE.

, Indians-all are drinking and braWl
ing at the fort. The Indians drinl
deeply, but are more quiet. They ar,
the best behaved of the lot.
Suddenly there is cry and . shot
A half-drunken scout has had
row with redskin and fired upoI
him. He had the savage at a disad
vantage. 1t was a word and a shot
and as the crowd opens a little tn.
young warrior is seen standing witt
one arm across his breast and a lool
of defiance on his face. His other arm
hangs by his side, broken by thu
bullet.
The redskin is more treacherous thar
the serpent, but he never forgive.
treachery in anyone else. He recog.
nizes in the scout an old enemy, and
he realizes that the affair was put uL
to kill him off-hand. How his eyei
snapi How his muscles work. How
his chest heaves as the pain maddens
himI He looks from man to man, and
back at his would-be murderer, and
then turns his back on the crowd and
walks out of the stockade and over the
| hills.
Better look out for the varmintr
is the warning uttered by a hunter
with snow-white hair. He will take
/ OAA "a e@AA anu SA4AA IL ulIll no hlDcs
you out Nothing but death can salts
| fy his vengeance"
When the scout became sober and
knew what he had done he realized the
force OF the old mans words. Hence
forth, waking or sleeping, a menace
must follow every hour of his life. He
must either kill or be killed.
The days ran past and the incident
was forgotten by all save one. 1t was
a season of peace, and one less or one
more Indian at the fort attracted no
attention. If anyone looked in vain
| for the young warrior, who had the
blood of great chief in his veins, they
made no remark or inquiry. The
scouts had little to do for q couple of
months, but then came an alarm. A
band of warriors had broken away
from their reservation and were raid
ing the settlers. Messengers were
sent here and there in hot haste, and
| the scout with the shadow of death
across his path went his way alone.
Men must be brave who are scouts.
| 1t is a work which needs nerve and
true courage. The menace haunted
the man as he rode forth, He will
kill you! He will kill you!" kept ring
ing in his ears, but he halted not. Had
he known that a score of Indians
sought his life he would have gone
just the same. As he rode away in the
bright sunshine of monday he swept
the plain around him with keen glance,
and then q strange look settled on his
face. 1t was the look which comes to
the human face when the mind real
ICES a great danger, but is prepared to
die fighting to the last.
Hardly had the scout passed beyond
the stockade when vengeance was
ready to take his trail. The Indian is
untiring. He is implacable. The
wounded warrior had been in hiding
for days and days, and his watching
and waiting were at last rewarded.
When the scout had passed out of
sight over the ridge the shadow of
death took up his trail. He had been
told to ride fast; the pursuer was
afOot. 1t seemed absurd to believe the
scout had cause to fear the -dusky
warrior who was left miles behind.
The race was begun. The one rides
like the wind. The other follows at
an even pace-a pace that reminds
you of his implacable hate.
At the second mile the scout had to
make a crescent to avoid q mass of
rocks. The Indian cut across the
angle and saved few rods. He had
gained two hundred feet on his victim.
Intuition told him the destination of
the scout Instinct guided him to
make short cuts and pick up the trail
again. Here the iron hoofs of the
horse were plain on the turf-there
only the eyes of an Indian could see
that a body had passed. For hours
and hours the pace never changed.
He looked neither to the right nor left
cared for neither bird nor beast
for shrub or rock or serpent-for only
one thing in the whole world-ven-
geance. Noon found him keeping his
pace-night found him keeping the
trail with the grim ferocity of blood
hound.
1t was only when night fairly settled
| down that he halted beside a rock, ate
few mouthfuls of food, and curled
himself up for nap. Two hours
later the rim of full moon showed
above the plain, and its first rays had
scarcely been cast when the warrior
opened his eyes, sprang to his feet,
| and was away on the trail again.
Hour after hour he followed it-hour
by hour the night grew old and faded
into day. When daylight came the
| track was fresher. While the scout
slept death had made decided gain.
The second day passed as the first.
The second night passed as the other.
On the morning of the third a mist
lay over plain and valley and hill. II
| rose from the brown turf-from the
| huge rocks-from the thickets OF
cedar and fir on the ragged hillsides.
| The eye of neither man nor beast nor
bird could penetrate that curtain OF
morning. After midnight the Indian
had slackened his pace. As morning
drew near his head was held more
erect and his eyes carried a new light.
As the day struggled to break through
the mist the warrior halted, loosened
his knife and tomahawk, and then
crept under the black cloud as the
wary panther goes forward to surprise
his prey. His keen scent had located
a fire. His quick ear had detected the
movements of a horse.
Creep-creep-cree The shadow
of death under the shadow of morn
ing! A hare listening for her life
would not have been frightened into 6
run. The scout lay sleeping with hi:
feet to the smouldering fire. The
chirp of the crickets which had sound
ed in his ears all night was at last in
terrupted, but he was not awakened
There is an intuition which sometime.
warns men of great danger. 1t came
to the sleeping scout, but it came too
late. As he opened his eyes the sbad
ow lowered over him. He saw it ant
recognized it, but there was no time
for word of prayer or shout of de
fiance.
Quavering on the morning mist
Il IL. q =
: higher and higher, and grew stronge
and stronger-came the war-whOOp o
an Indian. An insult had been wipe'
out in blood. Vengeance had beef
satisfied.-M. quad, in the Detroit Ere
Press.
DoAw Ca1ohEn. uOraAa